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Mohammedan  World 
of  To-day 


BY 


REV.  SAMUEL  M.  ZWEMER,  F.  R.  G.  S. 

bahreiiCarabia 

Missionary  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  In  America 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA 
25  East  22d  Street 
New  York 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN 
WORLD  OF  TO-DAY 


REV.  SAMUEL  M.  ZWEMER,  E.  R.  G.  S. 
BAHREIN,  ARABIA 

Missionan  of  the  Reformed  ( Dutch ) Church  in  America 


1 


I 


RULKRS  OK  TMK  MOHAMMKOAN  WORM)  OF  TO-DAV. 

1 « Victoria^  Kmprcss  of  India.  Wii.jiki.mina,  Qiiccn  of  ihc  Netherlands. 

Musai  RR-R-i)iN,  Shah  of  Persia.  4.  A imri  Hamid  II.,  Sultan  of  Turkey.  5,  Tsaitirv  H wangti,  Emperor  of  China 
<>•  Nicik»las  1 1.,  C/.ar  of  all  the  Riissias.  7.  Fai.ix  Kaukh,  President  of  Fiance. 


Thk  Mohammedan  Wori.d 
OF  To-D  AY 


Islam  dates  from  622  A.  D..  but  the  first  missionary  to  the 
Mohammedans  was  Raymund  Lull,  who  was  dragged  outside 
the  town  of  Bugia  and  stoned  to  death  on  June  30,  1315.  He 
was  not  only  the  first  missionary  to  the  Mohammedans,  but  the 
first  and  only  Christian  of  his  day  who  felt  the  extent  and 
urgency  of  the  call  to  evangelize  the  Moslem  world.  He  was  a 
martyr  like  Stephen,  and  worthy  of  so  great  a cause.*  Had 
the  spirit  of  Raymund  Lull  filled  the  Church,  we  would  not  to- 
day speak  of  very  nearly  two  hundred  million  unevangelized 
Moslems.  Even  as  Islam  itself  arose  a scourge  of  God  upon  an 
unholy  and  idolatrous  Church,  so  Islam  grew  strong  and  ex- 
tended to  China  on  the  east  and  Sierra  Leone  on  the  west, 
because  the  Church  never  so  much  as  touched  the  hem  of  the 
vast  hosts  of  Islam  to  evangelize  them.  The  terror  of  the 
Saracen  and  Turk  smothered  in  every  heart  even  the  desire  to 
carry  them  the  Gospel.  When  the  missionary  revival  began 
with  Carey  the  idea  was  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen. 
Henry  Martyn,  first  of  modern  missionaries,  preached  to  the 
Mohammedans;  he  met  them  in  India,  Arabia,  and  Persia  ; his 
controversial  tracts  date  the  beginning  of  the  conflict  with  the 
learning  of  Islam.  The  tiny  rill  that  flowed  almost  unnoticed 
has  gathered  volume  and  strength  with  the  growth  of  mission- 
ary interest,  until  in  our  day  it  has  become  a stream  of  thought 
and  effort  going  out  to  many  lands  and  peoples.  Never  were 
there  so  many  books  written  on  the  subject  of  IMohammedan- 
isni  as  in  our  day — never  was  the  Eastern  question  more 
pressing,  never  the  whole  situation  so  full  of  anxiety,  and  yet 
so  full  of  hope.  Time  and  tide  have  changed  marvelously 


* Peroquet,  “ Vie  de  Raymund  Lull,’’  1667.  Low,  “de  vita  R.  L.”  Halle,  1830.  Helfferich, 
“ Ray.  Lull.”  Berlin,  1858.  “His  Life  and  Work.”  Dublin  University  Magazine.  Vol. 
LXXVIII,43. 


4 THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY. 

since  Dr.  Jessup  wrote  his  little  classic  in  1879.*  single 
glance  at  the  map  there  given  to  illustrate  Islam,  shows  how 
the  unity  and  power  of  Moslem  empire  have  been  broken,  and 
what  God  hath  wrought  for  the  Kingdom  of  His  Son.  When 
that  book  was  written  there  were  no  missionaries  in  all  Arabia, 
Tunis,  Morocco,  Tripoli,  or  Algiers.  Christendom  was  ignorant 
of  the  extent  and  character  of  Islam  in  Central  Africa  ; little 
was  known  of  the  Mohammedans  in  China,  and  the  last  chapter 
in  the  history  of  Turkey  was  the  treaty  of  Berlin.  The  prob- 
lem has  greatly  changed  ; old  factors  are  canceled  and  new 
factors  have  appeared.  But  we  can  still  say  with  the  writer  : 
“ It  is  our  earnest  hope  and  prayer  that  this  revival  of  interest 
in  the  historical,  theological,  and  ethical  bearings  of  Islam  may 
result  in  a new  practical  interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
Mohammedan  nations.  It  is  high  time  for  the  Christian 
Church  to  ask  seriously  the  question  whether  the  last  command 
of  Christ  concerns  the  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions 
of  the  Mohammedan  world.”  Let  us  face  the  problem,  and  the 
key  to  its  solution  may  be  found. 

I.  THE  PRESENT  EXTENT  OF  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD. 

Looking  at  the  table,  which  is  on  the  opposite  page,  we  see 
that  it  is  both  geographical  and  chronological.  It  tells  when 
and  where  Islam  came  and  saw  and  conquered.  Its  present 
extent  embraces  three  continents  ; from  Canton  in  China  to 
Sierra  Leone  in  West  Africa.  In  Russia  they  spread  their 
prayer-carpets  southward  and  turn  to  Mecca  ; at  Zanzibar  they 
look  northward ; the  whole  province  of  Yunnan,  in  China, 
prays  toward  the  setting  sun,  and  in  the  wide  Sahara  they  look 
eastward  toward  the  Beit  Allah  and  the  Black  Stone  ! Moham- 
med’s word  has  been  fulfilled:  “So  we  have  made  you  the 
center  of  the  nations  that  you  should  bear  witness  to  men,”t 

Arabic  is  the  language  of  the  Koran,  but  there  are  millions 
of  Moslems  who  can  not  understand  a single  sentence  of 
Mohammed’s  book.  They  speak  Russian.  Turkish,  Persian, 
Pashtu,  Baluchi,  Urdu,  Chinese,  Malay,  Swaheli,  Hausa,  and 
yet  other  languages.  And  not  only  is  there  this  diversity  of 
language,  but  an  equal  diversity  of  civilization  in  the  Moslem 
world  of  to-day.  The  Turkish  effendi,  in  Paris  costume,  with 


♦ “The  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem.”  Rev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.D. 
t Surah  1 1,  section  2,  Sale's  “ Koran,”  p 16. 


622  A.D.  TABLE  SHOWING  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY.  1898  A.D. 


1 

ft; 

i! 

None  among  Moslems 

Bible  transl.  Colleges, 
schools  and  churches. 

Strategic  points  all 
occupied.  Bible  trsns- 
lated.  Literature,  col- 
leges, schools,  church- 
es. Beirut  Press. 
Bible  disirib'fn,  med- 
ical work,  preaching. 
Rescued  slave  school. 
Bible  transl.  Schools. 
Converts.  Martyrs. 
Bible  translated. 

Bible  translated  in 
part. 

Matthew’s  Gospel 
translated. 

Bible  translated. 
Many  statioiis.schools 
Controversy,  Conv’ts. 
Bible  translated. 

More  than  13.000  con- 
verts in  Java  alone 
All  agencies  at  work. 

controversial  litera- 
ture. Schools  Con- 
verts.Chu'h's.Hospt’Is 
Three  Stations. 
Schools  Hospital. 

Medical  missions. 
Preaching  work  for 
1 women.  Touring. 
1 Thirteen  stations 
occupied,  and  a 
numlier  of  converts. 

.l/iA*.  iSoc.  that 
work  among  Moham- 
metlann. 

Methodist  Episcopal 
(North)  and  others. 

Am.  Board  For.  Miss. 
Foreign  Chr.  Mission. 
B.  & F.  Bible  Society. 

A.B.  C.  F.  M.  Presb. 
Board,  N.  C.  .M.  S. 

Keith  Falconer  Mis- 
sion (Scotch).  Arabian 
.Mission  Ref.  Cb.  Am. 
C.M.S.Presb.BoardN. 

Bible  Socielles. 

C.  M.  S. 

C.  M.  S.  Presb.  B.  Free 
Ch.  of  Scoil'd,  S.  P.  G. 

Only  incidentally  by 
various  societii  s. 
Various.  Dutch  Soc  , 
Rheiii-h  Miss.  Soc.. 
and  Barmen  Soc 

United  Presbyterians. 
C.  M.  S.  and  North 
Africa  Mission. 
Universities,  Mis- 
sion. 

North  Africa  Miss.  A 
other  smaller  missions 

is  Si 
'^£1“ 

1859  j 
1830 

1 

1818 

1885 

1890 

1811 

1890 

1810 

1658 

1862 

5 S 1 II  1 1 1 II 

Migrion 
Effort  Am'g 
Moglern. 

Indirect. 

None. 

Indirect  but 
important. 
None. 

Indirect  but 
important. 

Direct. 

Indirect. 
Rec  y direct 
None. 

None. 

Begun 

recently. 

Direci. 

Scarc’ly  any 
Direct. 

Partly  dir'cl 
land  import. 

1 Direct. 

1 Direct. 

Indirect. 

Direct. 

Direct. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

33 

i 

1389— Conv.made  inServia 
14H3— Coiivers’ii  of  Bosnia 
1675  ' Numbers  of  Greeks 
turn  Moslem. 

13.53 — Turks  enter  Europe 

1790— Missionaries  go  to 
European  Bussia. 

634-638--  Conquest  of 

[Syria. 

622  The  IIeoira  op  Mo- 
hammed. 

649  -Conquest  of  Persia. 

1.570  Kiichiim  Khan  in- 
troduces Islam  to  Siberia. 

721— Abu  Sayda  ))reaches 
in  Transoxanla. 

1000  (or  earlier). 

1005— Sheikh  Ismael  In 
Lahore.  1.305— P I r 
Khandnyut  in  Deccan. 

742-  First  mosque  built  in 
North  China. 

1276— Malacca. 

1606— New  Guinea. 

649— Omar  takes  Ale.xan- 
dria. 

900— Arabs  from  Oman 
reach  Zanzibar. 

■) 

1 647-690— Arab  conquest 

)-  of  all  North  Africa  by 
the  sword. 

1077— Founding  of  Tim- 
buctoo. 

1600-1700 -S  p read  of 
Islam  in  Africa. 
1800-Revival  in  Soudan 
under  the  Mahdi. 

Amount  of  Religious 
Freedom  Granted. 

Nominal  tolcrailoii. 
Greek  State  Church. 
Complete  toleration. 

Guaranteed  by  treaty, 
but  actually  a nullity. 
No  religious  freedom 
for  dissenters. 

Same  as  In  European 
Turkey. 

Outside  Turkish  rule 
and  British  Influence 
hardly  any. 
Practically  None. 

None  for  dissenters. 

None. 

Same  as  in  India. 

Entire  liberty  with 
complete  neutrality. 

Nom.  tolerat’n;strong 
anti-foreign  feeling. 
Neutrality  and  tolera- 
tion, Diileh  govt,  op- 
poses mission  work. 

Much  greater  than  in 
Turkey. 

Not  yet  complete. 
None. 

Same  as  in  Turkey. 

Nominal  freedom  but 
R.  C.  supremacy. 

Undefined  and  un- 
certain. 

V 

Independent 

Kingdoms. 

Kingdom. 

Absolute 

Monarchy. 

Absolute 

Monarchy. 

Absolute 

Monarchy. 

)4  under  Tur- 
key, % indep. 

Absolii  te 
Monarchy. 
Absolute 
Monarchy. 
Absolute 
Monarchy. 
British  Pro- 
tection. 
British  I m - 
pcrlal. 

Absolute 
Monarchy. 
Dutch,  Brit 
ish,  French 
(,'olonial. 

British  Occu- 
pation. 

Brit,  and  Ger- 
man Protect. 
Absolute 
Monarchy. 
Turkish  Pro- 
vinciai. 
French  Co- 
lonial. 

1 Tribal,  iiii- 
1 der  British 
1 French,  or 
[ German 
1 Influence. 

J 

25  ^ 

Slavonic. 

Turkish. 

Turkish. 

liiissian. 

Turkish. 

Arabic. 

Arabic. 

Persian. 

Russian. 

Pashlii. 

Baluchi. 

Hindu- 

stani. 

Chinese. 

Malay,etc 

Arabic. 

Swaheli. 

Arabic. 

Arabic. 

Arabic. 

Arabic. 

Ilami.ic. 

Arabic. 

Hausa. 

Hausa. 

Hamitic. 

Moslem 

Populal'n\ 

1,187,459 

24,165 

2,000,000 

2,000,000 

12,000.000 

8,000,000 

8,800,000 

8,261,000 

4,000,000 

500,000 

57,321,164 

20,000,000 

15,000,000 

8,978,775 

140,000 

4,995,000 

1,000,000 

1,619,350 

3,664,941 

8,000,000 

10,400,000 

10,000,000 

8,000,000 

Total 

Populat'n 

10,811,852 

2,433,806 

5,711,000 

94,188,750 

17,117,690 

8,000,000 

9.000. 000 
23,015,560 

4.000. 000 
500,000 

287,223,431 

402.680.000 

35.575.000 

9,734,405 

150,000 

5,000,000 

i,3oo,ooo; 

1.700.000 

4.429,421 

9.100.000 

10,400,000 

12,000,000 

10,000,000 

Mohammedan 

Countries. 

Koumania,  B ii  1 - 
garia,  and  Servia 
Greece. 

Turkey  in  Europe. 
Russia  in  Europe. 

Turkey  in  Asia. 

Arabia. 

Persia. 

Russia  in  Asia. 
Afghanistan. 
Baluchistan. 
India. 

China. 

Java,  Sumatra, 
Borneo,  Celebes, 
and  New  Guinea. 

Egypt. 

Zanzibar. 

Morocco. 

Tripoli. 

Tunis. 

Algiers. 

Region  around 
[Lake  Tchad. 
The  Soudan. 

Region  of  Sokoto. 
The  Sahara. 

Cl 

EUROPE. 

5,811,617 

ASIA. 

133,882,164 

AFRICA. 

56,798,060 

196,491)847. — Total  Moslem  Population  in  the  World. 


6 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY. 


Constantinople  etiquette  ; the  simple  Bedouin  of  the  desert  ; 
the  fierce  Afghan  mountaineer ; the  Russian  trader  ; the 
almond-eyed  Moslem  of  Yunnan,  Chinese  in  everything  but 
religion  ; the  Indian  mollah,  just  graduated  from  the  Calcutta 
university  ; and  the  half-clad  Kabyle,  of  Morocco — all  of  them 
profess  one  religion  and  repeat  one  prayer.  There  is  vast  dif- 
ference in  the  stage  of  culture  reached  by  Mohammedans.  This 
important  fact  has  often  been  ignored  and,  sometimes,  sup- 
pressed. It  is  one  thing  to  affirm  a fact  concerning  the  Moham- 
medans of  Syria  or  Egypt,  it  is  quite  another  to  assert  the  same 
of  Moslems  in  Java  or  China.  You  must  change  your  predicate. 
Syeed  Ameer  Ali,  the  learned  barrister  of  Calcutta,  who  poses  as 
the  defender  of  Mohammed,  would  hardly  recognize  Tippoo  Tib 
as  a brother,  though  he  met  him  beside  the  Kaaba.  Moslem  pop- 
ulations must  be  weighed  as  well  as  counted,  otherwise  we  will 
be  led  far  astray  by  mere  statistics.  And  yet  ‘‘God  hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  the  nations”  ; civilization  is  only  the  raiment 
that  covers  a common  humanity.  All  ^lohammedans  have 
souls  and  are  sinners.  Put  it  as  you  will,  and  classify  as  you 
please,  we  stand  before  nearly  200,000,000  Mohammedans,  our 
brothers  and  sisters.  This  is  a conservative  estimate,  and  based 
on  the  best  authorities  possible.* 

Now  by  considering  the  chronology  of  the  chart,  we  find 
that  these  millions,  have  been,  almost  without  exception,  for 
centuries  shamefull}’’  neglected  in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the 
whole  world.  A comparison  of  the  two  columns  of  dates  is 
very  humiliating. 

Islam  was  a missionary  religion  from  the  very  start,  and 
continues  so  to  this  day.  We  may  say  it  has,  like  Christianity 
with  its  apostolic,  medieval  and  modern  missions,  three  great 
periods  of  aggressive  growth.  The  dates  given  when  Islam 
entered  the  different  lands  where  it  is  now  predominant  may 
be  grouped  into  three  divisions  of  time.  That  immediately 
after  Mohammed’s  hegira  from  A.  D.  622-800  ; a later  period 
under  the  Ottomans  and  Moguls ; lastly,  the  modern  mis- 
sionary revival  from  1700-1800. 

During  the  first  period,  the  apostolic  age  of  Mohammedan 
missions,  the  sword  carried  Islam  throughout  all  Arabia, 

♦The  population  of  the  Moslem  lands  given  in  llic  chart  is  taW^n  in  nearly  every  instance  from 
“ The  Statesman's  Yearbook  for  1898.”  In  the  case  of  China  a more  moderate  estimate  was 
taken^  as  found  in  the  China  Mission  Handbook,  for  1896."  'I'he  p' pulation  of  the  Sudan, 
Arabia,  the  Sahara,  and  other  African  regions  is  not  yet  accurately  known.  In  India  the  Moslem 
population  seems  to  be  slowly  but  steadily  increasing. 


THK  MOH  AMMKDAN  WORM)  OI  lO  DAY. 


7 


Syria,  Persia.  Egypt,  North  Africa,  and  by  more  peaceful 
means  into  Canton  and  Western  China.  All  these  regions  had 
received  the  Mohammedan  faith,  and  it  had  become  deeply 
rooted  before  the  year  looo  A.  D.*  Christianity  was  put  under 
tribute  and  oppression,  as  in  Asia  Minor,  or  entirely  swept 
away,  as  in  Arabia  itself,  by  the  tornado  power  of  the  new 
religion.! 

Afterward  came  the  fall  of  Constantinople  and  the  rise  of 
Turkish  power.  This  was  the  second  chapter  of  Moslem  con- 
quest. Afghanistan,  Turkestan,  India,  Java,  and  the  Malay 
archipelago  became  “converted.”  And  lastly  we  can  chroni- 
cle the  modern  missionary  efforts  of  Islam  by  the  apostles  of 
the  Koran  from  Cairo’s  University,  or  the  Muscat  apostles  of 
the  slave-trade.  Their  work  was  in  Russia,  the  Soudan,  Sokoto, 
and  West  Africa.  In  following  these  paths  of  conquest  on  the 
world  map,  it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  Islam  never  crossed  the 
great  oceans,  but  for  the  most  part  traveled  by  land  ; Japan, 
Australia,  South  Africa  and  America  were  not  reached.  Nor 
has  Islam  ever  made  progress  in  any  land  where  Protestantism 
was  dominant. 

The  Mohammedan  methods  of  mission  work,  that  can  be 
seen  in  all  this  wonderful  conquest,  are  three  : The  sending  of 
embassies,  the  power  of  the  sword,  and  colonization  by  inter- 
marriage. The  last  method  was  always  coupled  with  the  slave- 
trade,  partly  as  cause  and  partly  as  effect,  and  won  for  Islam 
nearly  all  of  North  Africa  south  of  the  Barbary  States.  China 
is  a striking  example  of  other  methods.  When  Mohammed’s 
maternal  uncle,  Wahab  al  Kabsha,  went  as  an  envoy  to  China, 
as  early  as  628  A.  D.,  the  camel’s  nose  entered  the  tent.  An- 
other embassy  was  sent  in  708.  In  755  four  thousand  Arab 
soldiers  were  sent  by  Calif  Abu  Jafir  to  succor  the  Chinese 
emperor  against  the  Turkish  rebels,  and,  as  a result,  these 
soldiers  were  established  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  empire, 
and  given  a multitude  of  Chinese  wives.  Lastly  we  have  the 
wild  savages  of  the  province  of  Yunnan  all  “converted  ” to 
Islam  when  the  Mogul  emperor  appointed  Omar  from  Bokhara 
their  governor.  To-day  more  than  twenty  million  Moslems  in 
China  testify  to  the  efficiency  of  these  methods.| 

*C.  R.  Haines'  “ Islam  as  a Miss’ onary  Religion.'*  London:  S.  P.  C.  K.,  1889.  A valuable 
list  of  authorities  is  given,  and  the  book  itself  is  a marvel  of  accuracy  and  condensation. 

tThomas  Wright,  “ Early  Christianity  in  Arabia.*'  London,  1855. 

$P.  D'Abey  de  Thiersant,  “La  Mahometisme  en  Chine."  2 vols.  Paris,  1878.  Chinese 
Recorder^  Vol.  XX,  pp.  10-68.  T.  W.  Arnold,  “ The  Preaching  of  Islam."  London,  1896.  See 
especially  the  valuable  chronological  chart  at  the  end  of  the  latter  book. 


8 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAV. 


Another  fact  evident  from  the  chart  is  that  Islam  had 
rooted  itself  for  centuries  in  every  land  before  modern  missions 
came  to  grapple  with  the  problem.  The  Church  was  ages 
behind  time,  and  lost  splendid  opportunities.  Christian 
missions  came  to  Persia  one  thousand  years  after  Islam  entered. 
In  Arabia  and  North  Africa  twelve  centuries  intervened.  In 
China  Mohammedanism  had  eleven  hundred  years  the  start, 
and  only  this  year  has  a beginning  been  made  to  evangelize 
that  part  of  China.*  In  Java  only  four  hundred  years  elapsed 
before  work  began  for  these  half-pagan  Moslems,  and  it  is  not 
strange  that  here  we  find  many  converts.  About  one-third  of 
the  Hausa-speaking  people  of  North  Africa  are  Mohammedans. 
Prior  to  the  Fulah  conquest,  about  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  they  were  all  pagans;  Islam  is  even  now  making  con- 
quests west  of  the  Niger.  And  practically  the  whole  of  this 
field — long  since  white  for  the  harvest — has  been  untouched  by 
missionary  effort.  Yet  Charles  Henry  Robinson  writes  in  his 
book,  “ Hausa-land  : ” 

Although  Mohammedanism  is  making  very  slow,  if  any, 
progress  in  the  Hausa  States,  it  has  recently  made  rapid  progress 
among  the  Yorubas,  who  inhabit  a country  to  the  west  of  Hausa- 
land,  which  has  for  its  capital  Lagos.  Its  introducers  are  for  the 
most  paid  Fulahs — that  is,  the  same  tribe  to  whom  the  Kansas  were 
indebted  for  their  conversion  to  Mohammedanism  at  the  beginning 
of  this  country. 

The  fatalism  attributed  to  Mohammedans  is  not  one-half 
so  fatalistic  in  its  spirit  and  operation  as  that  which  for  cen- 
turies has  been  practically  held  by  the  Christian  Church  as  to 
the  hope  or  necessity  of  bringing  the  hosts  of  Islam  into  the 
following  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  may  have  been  reasons  in 
in  time  past  for  this  unreadiness  or  unwillingness,  such  as 
political  barriers  and  fear  of  death  from  Moslem  fanaticism. 
To-day  we  cannot  plead  such  excuse.  There  has  been  no 
foreign  missionary  among  Moslems  who  died  for  proclaiming 
the  truth,  in  all  this  century  of  missions.  Nearly  all  the  politi- 
cal barriers  against  missionary  occupation  have  fallen.  Read 


♦The /«<•//«  IV/^ness  s\.atts  : “ A number  of  Hntish  and  German  friends  are  subscribing  to 
support  a new  mission  to  China.  'I’his  new  enterprise,  to  which  we  wish  complete  success,  will 
have  its  headquarters  in  Kashgar  and  Yarkand,  two  cities  of  Chinese  Turkestan,  and  the  work  is 
to  be  carried  on  not  among  the  Chinese,  but  among  the  Mohammedans,  who  are  in  a large  majority 
in  that  district.  'I'lie  new  mission  is  interesting  in  that  it  is  an  attack  upon  China  from  the  West. 
Two  German  missionaries,  accompanied  by  a doctor  and  a native  Christian,  will  arrive  in  Kashgar 
next  spring,  and  begin  work.  It  may  be  added  that  the  Hritish  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  is  at 
present  printing  the  four  Gospels  in  the  dialect  of  Chinese  'I'urkesian,  and  that  in  all  probability 
they  will  be  ready  before  the  new  mission  gets  settled  at  Kashgar." 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OE  TO-DAY. 


POLITICAL  POWERS  OF  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD. 


Under  Turkish  rule  : Europe 2,000,000 

Asia 12,000,(100 

Arabia 3 000  000 

Tripoli 1,000.000 

18,000,000 

Under  other  Moslem  rulers:  Arabia 5 000,000 

Persia 8.M)0  000 

Afghanistan 4,000,(i00 

Morocco 4 995  000 

22,705,000 

Under  the  the  Chinese  Emperor 2n, 000, 000 

Under  African  chiefs,  etc 36,400,000 

Under  Christian  rulers:  Roumania,  etc 1,187,452 

Greece 24,165 

Russia 10,861,000 

Baluchistan  and  India,..  57,821.164 

Malaysia 15  000.000 

Egypt  and  Zanzibar 9 118,775 

Tunis  and  Algiers 5,284,291 

99,296,847 


196,491,847 


lO 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY. 


it  on  the  chart,  and  proclaim  it  upon  the  house-tops,  that  three- 
fourths  of  the  Mohammedan  world  are  accessible  to  the  Chris- 
tian missionary — accessible  in  the  same  way  as  are  all  non- 
Christian  lands,  opening  to  the  golden  keys  of  love  and  tact 
and  faith.  Of  two  hundred  million  Mohammedans,  only 
eighteen  million  are  directly  under  Turkish  rule.  Under 
Russian  rule  there  are  10,861,000  ; under  Dutch,  French  and 
German  rule.  24,580,000  ; while  British  rule  or  protection 
extends  over  nearly  sixty-six  million  Mohammedans — a popu- 
lation as  large  as  that  of  the  United  States.  And  yet  men 
speak  of  Mohammedanism  as  if  it  were  synonymous  with 
Turkey,  and  of  this  missionary  problem  as  if  it  could  be  solved 
by  bombarding  Constantinople. 

Looking  at  the  table  from  another  standpoint,  there  are 
to  day  only  41,560,600  Moslems  under  Mohammedan  rulers, 
i.e.,  in  Turkey,  Persia,  parts  of  Arabia,  Afghanistan  and 
Morocco  ; while  there  are  99,552,477  under  nominally  Christian 
rulers,  and  three-fourths  of  this  vast  number  are  subject  to  the 
Protestant  queens,  Victoria  and  Wilhelmina.  Well  may  Abd- 
ul-Hamid  II.  tremble  on  his  tottering  throne  for  his  califate, 
when  two  “infidel  women  ’’  hold  the  balance  of  political  power 
in  the  Mohammedan  world  This  is  the  finger  of  God.  And 
it  does  not  require  thegift  of  prophecy  to  see  yet  greater  political 
changes  in  the  near  future  pregnant  with  blessing  for  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  deadlock  of  inactivity  in  the  Levant 
cannot  last.  The  reaction  will  surely  lead  to  action  when  the 
temporary  revival  of  the  proud,  menacing  spirit  of  the  old 
sword-fanaticism  has  done  its  work.  But  the  failure  to  act  for 
Armenia  when  the  hour  was  ripe  may  cost  the  powers  of 
Europe  a still  larger  Eastern  question.  The  editor  of  the 
official  organ  of  the  Barmen  Mission,  which  has  had  so  much 
success  among  the  Mohammedans  in  Sumatra,  writes  : 

We  have  often  been  forced  to  observe  that  the  whole  Moham- 
medan world  is  eonnected  by  secret  threads,  and  that  a defeat  which 
Islam  suffers  in  any  part  of  the  world,  or  a triumph  which  she  can 
claim  either  really  or  fictitiously,  has  its  reflex  action  even  on  the 
work  of  our  missionaries  in  the  Mohammedan  part  of  Sumatra. 
Thus  the  recent  massacres  in  Armenia  have  filled  the  Mohammedans 
in  this  part  of  Sumatra  with  pride.  They  say  to  the  Christians  : 
“You  see  now  that  the  raja  of  Stamboul  (that  is,  the  Sultan  of 
Constantinople)  is  the  one  whom  none  can  withstand  ; and  he  will 
soon  come  and  set  Sumatra  free,  and  then  we  shall  do  with  the 
Christians  as  the  Turks  did  with  the  Armenians.''  And  it  is  a fact 
that  a considerable  number  of  Mohammedans  who  were  receiving 
instruction  as  candidates  for  b.iptism  have  gone  back  since  the 
receipt  of  this  news. 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORI  I)  OF  TO-DAY.  I I 

And  this  leads  us  to  consider,  next  ; 

II.  THE  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORI.D. 

Libraries  have  been  written  on  the  origin,  cliaracter,  and 
history  of  Islam,  the  Koran,  and  Mohammed.  Views  differ 
widely,  extremes  often  meet,  and  authorities  conflict  when  we 
examine  the  question,  c.  of  Mohammed’s  preaching,  or  the 
influence  of  the  Koran  on  the  lives  of  its  readers.  The  apolo- 
gies for  all  that  is  evil  or  incongruous  in  the  system  have  been 
many  and  yet  wholly  insufficient  to  prove  its  integrity  or 
truth.  The  result  of  a century  of  critical  study  by  European 
and  American  scholars  of  every  school  of  thought  seems  to  be 
that  Islam  is  a composite  religion.  It  has  heathen  elements  ; 
witness  the  Kaaba,  the  Black  Stone,  and  endless  superstitions 
and  practices  that  find  their  origin  in  pagan  Arabia.  It  has 
Christian  elements,  such  as  its  recognition  of  Christ  and  of  the 
New  Testament,  ivithont  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  atone- 
ment and  the  incarnation.  It  has ./c7C75'// elements.  These  are 
so  numerous  and  have  had  such  intluence  as  to  form  the  warp 
and  woof  of  Moslem  tradition  and  often  the  very  texture  of 
the  Koran  itself.*  The  Old  Testament  as  interpreted  by  the 
Talmud,  is  the  key  to  many  otherwise  obscure  words,  ideas, 
and  stories  found  in  the  Koran.  And  the  entire  Moslem  ritual 
is  an  Arabic  translation  of  Judaism  as  it  existed  in  Arabia. 
Like  Judaism,  Islam  glories  in  its  grand  doctrine  of  the  unity 
of  God.  But  altogether  too  much  has  been  made  of  this  part 
of  the  Moslem  creed.  There  is  abundant  proof  to  show  that 
monotheism  was  well  known  in  Arabia  before  Mohammed’s 
day.  The  name  of  Allah,  for  the  one  supreme  deity,  occurs 
even  in  the  pagan  poets.  Moreover,  there  is  no  salvation  in 
mere  monotheism.  “Thou  believest  that  God  is  one,  thou 
doest  well,  the  devils  also  believe  and  tremble.’  The  Moham- 
medan world  holds  this  supreme  truth  in  unrighteousness.  It 
has  not  made  them  free.  Fatalism  binds  back  everything  that 
seeks  progression  ; formalism  has  petrified  the  conscience  ; 
social  life  is  corrupt  and  morals  are  rotten. + The  Rev.  J. 
Vaughan,  of  India,  says  : “ However  the  phenomenon  may  be 
accounted  for,  we,  after  nineteen  years  of  mixing  with  Hindus 


♦ **  Literary  Remaias  of  Emaaue)  Deutsch,”  London,  1874.  and  the  unequalled  essay  of 
Abraham  Geiger’s,  •*  Was  hat  Mohammed  au>  dem  Judenthum  ubergenoramen  ? ” Preisschrift 
for  University  of  Bonn,  1833. 

t Hauri,  “ Der  Islam  in  seinem  Einduss  auf  das  Leben  seiner  Bckenner.”  Leiden,  i88i. 


12  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY. 

and  Mussulmen,  have  no  hesitation  in  sa5dng  that  the  latter 
are  as  a whole  some  degrees  lower  in  the  social  and  moral  scale 
than  the  former.”  A veteran  missionary  in  /Syria  says  of  the 
Moslem  population  that  “ truth-telling  is  one  of  the  lost  arts, 
perjury  is  too  common  to  be  noticed,  and  the  sin  of  sodomy  so 
common  among  them  in  many  places,  as  to  make  them  a dread 
to  their  neighbors.”  “ By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.” 

The  five  pillars  of  the  Mohammedan  faith  are  all  broken 
reeds  by  the  solemn  test  of  age-long  experience;  because  their 
creed  is  only  a half-truth,  and  its  “ pure  monotheism  ” does  not 
satisfy  the  soul’s  need  of  a mediator  and  an  atonement  for  sin. 
Their  prayers  are  formal  and  vain  repetitions,  without  demand- 
ing or  producing  holiness  in  the  one  that  uses  them.*  Their 
is  productive  of  two  distinct  evils  wherever  observed; 
it  manufactures  an  unlimited  number  of  hypocrites  who  profess 
to  keep  the  fast  and  do  not  do  so,  and  in  the  second  place  the 
reaction  which  occurs  at  sunset  of  every  night  of  Ramadhan 
tends  to  produce  revelling  and  dissipation  of  the  lowest  and 
most  degrading  type.  Their  almsgiving  stimulates  indolence, 
and  has  produced  that  acme  of  social  parasites — the  dervish  or 
fakir.  Finally  their  pilgrimages  to  Mecca  and  Medina  and 
Kerbela  are  a public  scandal  even  to  Moslem  morality,  so  that 
the  “ holy  cities  ” are  hotbeds  of  vice  and  plague-spots  in  the 
body  politic. 

It  has  often  been  asserted  that  Islam  is  the  proper  religion 
for  Ai’abia.  The  Bedouin  now  say:  “ Mohammed’s  religion 
can  never  have  been  intended  for  us;  it  demands  ablution,  but 
we  have  no  water;  fasting,  but  ive  always  fast;  almsgiving, 
but  we  have  no  money;  pilgrimage,  but  Allah  is  everywhere.” 
Islam  has  had  fair  trial  in  other  than  desert  lands.  For  five 
hundred  years  it  has  been  supreme  in  Turkey,  the  fairest  and 
richest  portion  of  the  old  world.  And  what  is  the  result  ? 
The  Mohammedan  population  has  decreased;  the  treasury  is 
bankrupt;  progress  is  blocked;  ‘‘instead  of  wealth,  universal 
poverty;  instead  of  comeliness,  rags  ; instead  of  commerce, 
beggary — a failure  greater  and  more  absolute  than  history  can 
elsewhere  present.”  f In  regard  to  what  Islam  has  done  and 
can  do  in  Africa,  the  recent  testimony  of  Mr.  Robinson  is  con- 


♦ See  article  on  “ The  Koran  Doctrine  of  Christian  Inteliigencer  (New  York),  Sept 

2,  1896, 

tf'yrus  Hamlin's  “ Five  Hundred  Years  of  Islam  in  Turkey,'’  1888. 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORl.D  OK  TO-DAY. 


'3 


14 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY. 


■elusive.  Writing  of  Mohammedanism  in  the  central  Soudan 
lie  says: 

Moreover,  if  it  be  true,  as  it  probably  is  to  some  extent,  that 
Mohammedanism  has  helped  forward  the  Hausas  in  the  path  of 
civilization,  the  assistance  rendered  here,  as  in  every  other  country 
subject  to  Mohammedan  rule,  is  bj'  no  means  an  unmixed  good. 
Mohammedan  progress  is  progress  up  an  impasse ; it  enables  converts 
to  advance  a certain  distance,  only  to  check  their  further  progress 
by  an  impassable  wall  of  blind  prejudice  and  ignorance.  We  can 
not  have  a better  proof  of  this  statement  than  the  progress,  or 
rather,  want  of  progress,  in  Arabia,  the  home  of  Mohammedanism, 
during  the  last  thousand  years.  Palgrave,  who  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  among  Mohammedans,  and  who  was  so  far  in  sympa- 
thy with  them  that  on  more  than  one  occasion  he  conducted  service 
for  them  in  their  mosques,  speaking  of  Arabia,  says  : “ When  the 
Koran  and  Mecca  shall  have  disappeared  from  Arabia,  then,  and 
only  then,  can  we  expect  to  see  the  Arab  assume  that  place  in  the 
ranks  of  civilization  from  which  Mohammed  and  his  book  have, 
more  than  any  other  cause,  long  held  him  back." 

But  it  is  not  only  indisputable  that  Mohammedanism  is  a 
hopeless  system  as  regards  civilization  ; it  is  hopeless  for  the 
soul.  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion  of  those  whose  theology 
includes  a larger  hope  and  a second  probation,  to  the  evangeli- 
cal friends  of  missions  and  *•  the  children  of  the  Kingdom  ” 
Islam  falls,  with  heathenism,  under  Paul’s  categorj’ — zvit/iout 
Christ,  without  hope."  The  awful  sin  and  guilt  of  the  Moham- 
medan world  is  that  they  give  Christ’s  glory  to  another. 
Islam,  in  its  final  result,  as  well  as  in  its  essence,  is  anti- 
Christian.*  Christ’s  name  and  place  and  offices  and  glory  have 
been  usurped  by  another.  Mohammed  holds  the  keys  of 
heaven  and  hell.  Whatever  ive  may  think  of  the  caricature  of 
Christ  in  the  pages  of  the  Koran,  it  so  influences  the  Moslem 
world  that  the  bulk  of  Mohammedans  know  extremely  little, 
and  think  still  less,  of  'the  Son  of  Mary — that  Son  of  whom  it 
is  written,  ‘‘Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other.” 

III.  THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD. 

Nevertheless,  there  are  certain  hopeful  signs  to  the  eye  of 
faith  in  this  very  hopeless  system  that  ends  in  such  social  stag- 
nation and  spiritual  death. 

First  of  all,  the  great  Mohammedan  world  is  no  longer  a 
unit,  either  politically  or  religiously.  As  regards  temporal 
power,  we  have  already  seen  how  that  is  and  has  been  steadily 


♦See  the  masterly  exposition  of  this  idea  in  Kocllc's  “ Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism." 
London,  1889. 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OE  TO-DAV. 


5 


disappearinjr.  The  illustrious  califate  is  hopelessly  a thing  of 
the  past.  Islam  has  no  acknowledged  pope.  Since  the 
Wahabee  reformation,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  the 
increasing  hatred  for  Ottoman  rule  in  Hejaz  and  Yemen 
during  the  last  decade,  and  English  supremacy  in  Oman  and 
the  Persian  gulf,  all  of  Arabia  looks  to  Mecca  for  a nixc  calif, 
and  not  to  Constantinople  for  the  old  one. 

Spiritually,  the  Moslem  world  seems  to  stand  on  the  tiptoe 
of  expectation . The  mahdi  in  the  Soudan  ; the  religious  orders 
of  the  Sanusiyah  in  Morocco  and  Tunis  ;*  the  revolt  against 
traditional  Mohammedanism  in  India,  and  the  rise  of  the  Babi 
movement  in  Persia,  all  these  indicate  a stirring  among  the 
dead  bones.  Babismf  alone  is  such  a wonderful  phenomenon 
that  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  it  already  has  800,000 
adherents,  and  spreads  wider  and  wider.  There  is  much  that 
is  sad  in  the  new  teaching,  but  it  has  opened  the  door  to  the 
Gospel  as  nothing  else  has  done.  Some  one  writes  concerning 
its  influence  • 

It  is  computed  that  in  many  towns  and  villages  half  the  popu- 
lation are  Babis.  This  is  a clear  indication  that  the  people  of  Persia 
are  already,  in  large  measure,  wearied  with  Islam,  and  anxious 
for  a higher,  holier  and  more  spiritual  faith.  Almost  all  through 
the  country  the  Babis  are  quite  friendly  to  Christians.  The  rise  of 
this  faith  is  in  a large  measure  due  to  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  the 
best  of  their  doctrines  are  borrowed  from  it,  while  they  openly 
reverence  our  .Scriptures,  and  profess  to  be  read}'  to  reject  any 
opinion  they  may  hold  when  once  proved  to  be  contrary  to  the 
Bible. 

Fifty  3'ears  ago  it  might  have  been  said  with  much  truth 
of  the  Mohammedan  world,  spirituall}',  that  it  was  “ without 
form  and  void,  and  darkness  upon  the  face  of  the  deep.”  To-day 
we  can  add  “ The  Spirit  of  God  moves  upon  the  waters."  What 
else  is  it  when  there  comes  news  of  an  ever-increasing  demand 
for  the  printed  Word  from  ever}'  mission  station  in  Moslem 
lands  ? What  else  is  it  when  two  learned  Indian  Moham- 
medans devote  their  time  to  writing  a comraentar}'  on  the 
Bible  from  a Moslem  standpoint  ? What  else  is  it  when  first- 
fruits  are  being  gathered  in  even  the  most  unpromising  fields 
of  labor  among  Moslems  ? 

Not  only  is  the  soil  being  prepared  for  the  sowing  of  the 
Word,  but  that  Word — the  good  seed  of  God— has  been  trans- 


H^itness  for  March  ii,  1808.  Article  by  Rev.  E.  Sell. 

The  Bab  aad  the  Babis."  E.  Sell.  Madras,  1895,  The  Episode  of  the  Rab,”  E,  G.. 
Browne,  of  Cambridge. 


l6  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORLD  OF  TO-DAY. 

lated  and  printed  in  nearly  every  Mohammedan  tongue.  The 
Arabic  Bible  will  prove  stronger  in  this  holy  war  than  any 
blade  of  Damascus  ever  was  in  the  hand  of  the  early  Saracens. 
For  Persian,  Afghan.  Chinese,  Malay,  Hausa  and  Russian 
Mohammedans  that  Word  of  God  is  also  ready  in  their  own 
tongue.  The  Arabic  Koran  is  a sealed  book  to  them — since  it 
may  not  be  translated  — but  the  Bible  speaks  the  language  of 
the  cradle  and  the  market  place.  In  this  we  can  see  a wonder- 
ful providence  of  God,  giving  the  Church  such  vantage  ground 
in  the  coming  conflict  that  even  her  enemies  acknowledge  vic- 
tory certain. 

As  regards  the  present  status  of  missionary  effort  in 
Moslem  lands,  the  bare  statement  of  the  chart  must  suffice. 
There  is  no  room  here  for  adequate  treatment  of  the  subject. 
The  reports  of  the  various  societies  that  work  chiefly  or  largely 
among  Moslems  tell  the  story  of  trial  and  triumph.  Especially 
worthy  of  study  is  the  story  of  the  North  African  Mission,  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  in  the  Punjab,  and  of  the  Dutch 
in  Java.  In  India  many  hundreds  of  the  followers  of  Islam 
have  publicly  abjured  their  faith  and  been  received  into  the 
Church.  Half  of  the  native  clergy  in  the  Punjab  are  from 
among  the  Moslems.  In  the  Malay  Archipelago  there  are 
thousands  of  converts.  And  yet  even  in  these  most  promising 
fields  the  laborers  are  sadly  few. 

Rev.  E.  A.  Bell,  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  writing  from  India, 
says  : 

Here  is  a great  door — sixty  millions  of  Indian  Moslems,  for 
whom  all  too  little  has  hitherto  been  done  In  the  Madras  Presi- 
dency are  two  million  Mohammedans,  and  there  are  only  two  mis- 
sionaries at  work  for  them,  both  in  the  city  of  Madras.  In  Mysore 
are  200,000  Mohammedan^,  and  in  Ceylon  200,000  for  whom  no 
ordained  missionary  is  at  work.  Missionaries  to  Hindus  are  num- 
bered even  by  the  hundred  in  these  territories,  but  scarcely  one  of 
them  knows  even  the  language  of  the  Mohammedans,  Hindustani. 

At  the  Lambeth  Conference,  held  in  London,  1897,  the  spe- 
cial committee  on  foreign  mission  work  called  attention  to 
“ the  inadequacy  of  our  efforts  in  behalf  of  Islam.”  “Until 
the  present  century  very  little  systematic  effort  appears  to 
have  been  made.  As  regards  the  zuork  of  the  present  century 
there  have  been  the  efforts  of  magnificent  pioneers,  but  we  need 
something  more ; we  need  continuous  and  systematic  work,  such 
as  has  been  begun  in  the  diocese  of  Lahore  and  some  other  parts 
of  India." 


THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WORI.D  OK  TO  DAY. 


17 


*•  Inadequacy  ” is  too  weak  a word  to  express  tlie  shameful 
neglect  of  duty  in  carrying  the  Gospel  to  the  Mohammedan 
world. 

There  was  a thousandfold  more  enthusiasm  in  the  dark 
ages  to  wrest  an  empty  sepulcher  from  the  Saracens  than  there 
is  in  our  day  to  bring  them  the  knowledge  of  a living  Savior. 
There  is  no  Peter  the  Hermit,  and  no  one  girds  for  a new  cru- 
sade. We  are  playing  at  missions  as  far  as  Mohammedanism 
is  concerned  For  there  are  more  mosques  in  Jerusalem  than 
there  are  missionaries  in  all  Arabia;  and  more  millions  of 
Moslems  in  China  than  the  number  of  missionary  societies  that 
work  for  Moslems  in  the  whole  world  ! Where  Christ  was 
born  Mohammed’s  name  is  called  from  minarets  five  times 
daily,  but  where  Mohammed  was  born  no  Christian  darts  to 
enter. 

America  entertains  perverts  to  Islam  at  a parliament  of 
religions,  while  throughout  vast  regions  of  the  Mohammedan 
world  millions  of  Moslems  have  never  so  much  as  heard  of  the 
incarnation  and  the  atonement  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  Savior 
of  the  world.  The  Holy  Land  is  still  in  unholy  hands,  and  all 
Christendom  stood  gazing  while  the  sword  of  the  Crescent  was 
uplifted  in  Armenia  and  Crete,  until  the  uttermost  confines  of 
the  Moslem  world  rejoiced  at  her  apathy  and  impotence. 

Is  this  to  be  the  measure  of  our  consecration?  Is  this  the 
extent  of  our  loyal  devotion  to  the  cause  of  our  King?  His 
place  occupied  by  a usurper  and  His  glory  given  to  another, 
while  the  Church  slumbered  and  slept ; shall  we  not  arise  and 
win  back  the  lost  kingdom  ? Missions  to  Moslems  are  the  only 
Christian  solution  of  the  Eastern  question.  “ Father,  the  hour 
has  come,  glorify  Thy  Son.”  God  wills  it.  Let  our  rallying 
cry  be.  Every  stronghold  of  Islam  for  Christ  ! Not  a war  of 
gunboats,  or  of  diplomacy,  but  a Holy  War  with  the  Sword  of 
the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God.  Let  God  arise  and ‘let 
His  enemies  be  scattered.  ” Father,  the  hour  has  come,  glorify 
Thy  Son.” — From  the  Missionary  Revietu  of  the  World.,  Octo- 
ber, i8g8. 


>4  . 


PRESS  OF 

e SCOTT  COMPANY 
14S  WEST  230  ST. 
NEW  YORK 


